Do You Say 'I' Too Much?

10/7/2013 12:44PM

It’s a common belief that people who say “I” a lot are full of themselves, maybe even narcissists. Surprising new research turns that assumption on its head. Elizabeth Bernstein and University of Texas researcher James Pennebaker explain. Photo: AP.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... oh ... what a single aisle I say about you knew we sent you guessed it smell what you might think most regional Bonds columnist Elizabeth Bowen's things to do explain the she's joined by James panna Banka ... Univeristy Texas like going home to a lead researcher on the study ... and to fulfill all of the secret life of pronouns ... thank you both for joining us a little funny style with you ... what does the same time say about ... you ... want to see ... many of the day it is your stock standard until it yourself it's actually what it's saying is you are flat and ... the date of this research they get injured as a very interesting it says that people with a time owner are ... the lower status in the first time PT ... the contents been conducted on the number of responses to that oh one of the new look to people ... to ... tell when they are perceived by others when they say night depending on how much tells about a recent twenty pounds ... we don't endeavor studies in and seventies for example are E-mail studies ... the Hanoi People's outgoing and incoming e mails for their permission ... and what we find is is that the person is a higher status ... is designed far fewer times in the mail in the lower status for ... several hours as personal say ... dear Dr Paton Baker I am so so what I'm writing because I like to know so and so I write that ... cheers to thank you so much for your e mail ... and in my own e mail to the tothe GE will be ... here again I am so so and I and interest in sewing selling he writes that ... thank you so much for E-mail James and so forth ... in other words it ... will we see it in ... E-mail we see in controlled experiments were we manipulate status we see this in everyday conversation is really quite quite privileged ... that's the style of a separate us up and I can level is about ... what to what the spouse and your new ride a lot about broken relationships with with the spouses or friends ... you can use the word on aid to help me be less threatening explain how that works ... she ate the nearest evidence look LTA they often tell couples who are getting ... look I don't stay on his unit was very accusatory so that you and your spouse like me you need to take up a target ... or I need to ... recall what you need to say I feel ... and when you take the garbage I ask you so many times that kind of things he wanted in on yourself it's it seems a better and with the sensors allow anyone equal if ... you really want to be seen I more or less than not it's someone making twenty equal relationship but ... not very healthy to go in and say you all set to slow due to take out the trash to you is about right now that now would become a frightening ... it whether it's true or not it's good on it and so on to it is not true I have no evidence of a wise ... ok and good chances in general people should ... people say time all estimate do was to be just let it flow as ... they see fit ... the problem is our brains are really NetEase for us to be listening closely to our use of pronouns ... are ... all things me equal ... we should be e I'm using ... language Datacom from using pronouns for example arrive words ... at the same arrested for June were speaking to ... if we had an egalitarian relationship ... earrings the interesting thing ... high status person ... when they don't use ie Lowe's and present UCI ... is actually less than the language of power in in English and other languages Wells was not ... right or wrong or we should aspire to two different shoes ... is just a marker of of relationships ... some profess that continuing effects of the best of of of that that the of ... of of the way of a high output from buying never using the words ... high ... I think some so ... I want to come across as more of a leader or perhaps a little bit more arrogant I would use the word I last ... and by the same token if ... I and D to find high status and I want to be more connected with people ... lower status than I would start using high Morse's summoned wouldn't that be strategic ... content Saipem is fitted thank you very much for us up out of it that thank you for much ... of a fawns ... more great